BRENTWOOD—On June 10, an EXX Alert went out on X notifying the public of a smash and grab robbery that took place at a hobby store. The store’s surveillance footage captured three men dressed in black hoodies, black pants, and wearing black masks approaching the sales counter at The Card Lab is located at 420 Beatrice Ct.
The robbers jumped over the counter with their backs to the camera and broke into the display cases and stole rare and collectible Pokémon cards with an estimated value of $15,000.
The incident took less than a minute’s time. The culprits got into a Nissan Altima and drove away.
Owner of The Card Lab, Ronnie Hackett, spoke to reporters indicating the store manager was there at the time of the burglary, but she was upstairs.
“My first thought was, I hope that my employee was okay, and I was relieved to see that she was. And then, I also just kind of wanted to see what damage was done. I’m relieved that she [the employee] was upstairs at the time. I’m relieved that she was not downstairs because that could have been way worse. But she was upstairs doing our end of the day protocol,” stated Hackett.
The Card Lab is a new store only operating for approximately two months. Reports indicate they will be temporarily closed to install better security.
Smash-and-Grab robberies have plagued retail stores in Los Angeles and Contra Costa Counties. The Games of Brentwood store, located at 2400 Sand Creek Rd. was previously targeted by thieves in the past. The Brentwood Police Department are investigating the incident.
